A British holidaymaker asking where to get blonde highlights in Jordan is among the “unusual enquiries” received by consular staff, the Foreign Office has revealed.
Another caller contacted the UK Embassy in Paris for help locating where they parked a car near the Eiffel Tower, and a tourist in Egypt asked embassy staff to do something about the shower temperature at a hotel.
The list was published by the Foreign Office as it sought to raise awareness ahead of the summer holidays about the support embassies and consulates could provide British nationals overseas, including help for lost passports and medical emergencies.
The department said it could not, however, “advise on hairdressing options or resolve restaurant complaints”.
The Foreign Office said on Saturday that staff at UK embassies and consulates overseas dealt with more than 328,000 enquiries and requests for help over the past year – equating to nearly 900 calls a day.
But it said that “while the vast majority of enquiries are genuine requests for help or advice, a handful are more unusual”.
Requests listed as examples also included:
A caller contacting the embassy in Paris asking how much duck pâté they could bring into the UK
A Brit in Georgia calling the Foreign Office to ask if their two pets could be granted British citizenship to guarantee diplomatic protection
A holidaymaker in Nigeria asking the embassy for help seeking a refund for an unsatisfactory meal they had just eaten at a restaurant in Abuja
An individual planning to visit the UK asking their local embassy for assistance in trying to book tickets for Royal Ascot
A Brit asking the Foreign Office consular service how to get in touch with their postman while away
The department also said some enquiries had been football-related during the World Cup, with a caller in Italy asking where they could watch the Scotland v Haiti group game in Milan.
Taking a more serious tone, it encouraged travellers to check the latest Foreign Office advice for their destination and ensure they had appropriate travel insurance.
It added that the support it could offer travellers who run into problems included issuing an Emergency Travel Document if a passport was lost or stolen, with more than 29,500 issued in the last year to British nationals.
Staff could also provide information and advice to British nationals who were victims of crime or required medical assistance abroad, and offer advice and support to those arrested abroad, the Foreign Office said.
Fraser McDougall, head of the Consular Contact Centre, said that while the Foreign Office could not help with retrieving lost cars or spots to watch the football, it was “proud of the support we provide to over a quarter of a million Brits each year”.
